Absolutely. Android Auto is a must for me.

I'm on stable, and using it.

I think Android Auto is really the only thing keeping me from completely de-googling. Many times in the past I've installed some stripped down ROM or whatever but I always go back because Android Auto is too convenient.

I wish there was a nice open source alternative that worked with my head unit.

Pixel hardware is some of the easiest to get/best/cost effective with an unlocked bootloader.

They only support Pixel hardware because it's currently the only line that meets their list of requirements. I'd guess that if something came around which beat the Pixel line, they'd support it...but I also don't see anyone positioned to do that right now.

Though it's worth mentioning that the developers don't emphasize degoogling all that much and their community often have a bit of tension with degooglers who come to join them. The OS certainly meets the needs of those of us getting away from Google but the developers have no problem recommending workflows that go through Google (albeit with regular app access rather than the privileged and deeply integrated access on stock Android) when they're more secure than the alternatives. For example, they'll regularly suggest using sandboxed Google Play over F-Droid or Aurora Store, again because of their stance of prioritizing security above all.

It can sometimes be a bit annoying when your priorities are more about avoiding corporate surveillance than protecting yourself from attackers or a snooping government, but their work ends up supporting both regardless.

I think because on other manufacturer android phones, like Samsung, you'd have to de-Google and also de-Samsung.

I'm still sour that Google disables hdmi/DP over USB-C on Pixels on purpose, and it bothers me that Graphene devs never bothered adding it back.

iirc that developer doesn't work on grapheneos anymore

If you need Android Auto, the closest thing you'll get is LineageOS with some sort of GApps, but those are far from the "privacy and security first" goals of GrapheneOS.

If you are looking for something private/"FOSS-focused" and don't need Android Auto, I like CalyxOS a lot, and have heard good things about DivestOS.

I generally like Louis Rossmann, but his arguments in the GrapheneOS video were beyond stupid. He says that he can't trust GrapheneOS because it's developed by Daniel Micay. I guess he doesn't understand that GrapheneOS is open source and anyone can see the code. Then he switched back to the proprietary Google ROM. So he's trusting proprietary software that's filled with spyware over privacy-respecting open source software that can be audited by anyone.

You don't seem to understand the situation either and you blindly follow some YouTuber. I'd advise you to overthink your opinion on this topic.

Yes it's proprietary and depends on a lot of Google services. Usually if you want it on a custom ROM, you need to use the full GApps packages. No Android Auto on smaller GApps packages.

Google would have to approve the OS by whitelisting it

Google Pay support

I can not comprehend this. Ditching Google is why I yearn for alternatives to stock Android.